Class blog for Anth 249: Evolution and human disease. We will be responding to class readings and engaging with the wider network of blogs and online content on evolutionary medicine. We might also make up some fun projects along the way.

Monday, February 25, 2013

[First reader] A glimpse of something big.

This week, I was shaken by a truly daring claim made by group led by Herman Pontzer. You see, after finding out that Hadza people, while spending much more active lives then Westerners somehow spent very similar amounts of energy on a daily basis, the group has concluded that, quote, "that human daily energy expenditure may be an evolved physiological trait largely independent of cultural differences".

The paper actually acknowledges that it is defying existing conceptions about Western culture energy consumption. If we go by this hypothesis, then our ideas of evolution and western culture may be revamped. How was this ability to keep energy expenditure stable important in the past? How long was it around? Why do we have it? All these and other questions require further research to be answered.

This may be a peak into something great, possibly leading us into understanding evolution further. I'm certainly curious what will come out of this discovery.